


Upstroke

by Michael_Ackart



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Anal Sex, Bottom!Shepard, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, M/M, Mass Effect 3: Citadel, Rimming, Tattoos, Top!Kaidan, body painting, custom Shepard - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-09 23:59:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3269096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michael_Ackart/pseuds/Michael_Ackart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During their shore leave on the Citadel, Shepard tries his hand at painting again. But it's a lot harder than he remembers and he's not sure if Kaidan is a distraction or an inspiration</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upstroke

**Author's Note:**

> I needed something lighthearted in my life, so please bear with me

One more pull of the trigger and the buzzer rang. A smirk blossomed across Kaidan’s face as the scores from the combat simulator appeared on the screen overhead and he glanced over to his two companions.

Cortez whistled before saying, “You got your ass kicked, James!”

“Whatever. Dumb luck, Major,” the lieutenant grumbled as they walked towards the exit.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Vega,” Kaidan laughed.

That had been fun. He needed to bring Shepard for a couple rounds before they left. Kaidan tried to get him to come with them but he declined, saying something about shopping with EDI and Traynor. Steve and James decided to hit up the casino but Kaidan said he’d see them later. He wanted to hang out with Cal and enjoy the rest of their shore leave as best they could. And he wanted to make sure Shepard was okay. The man claimed to be fine but he knew the mess with his clone shook him up.

‘Where are you?’ he typed out on his omni-tool.

‘The apartment,’ came the fast reply from Shepard.

As Kaidan walked towards the elevators, he could momentarily pretend things were normal. He was glad they still had a few days of shore leave left, the ship needed even more repairs after the fight with the clone.

‘Are you still with EDI and Traynor?’

‘I’m alone. And naked.’

Kaidan’s eyebrow quirked and he started walking just a little faster. It seemed to take longer than usual but when he finally made it to the apartment, he was not met with the image he expected. Instead of Cal spread out on the couch or perhaps waiting for him on the kitchen counter, Kaidan saw a coffee table full of painting supplies. There were different sized brushes, a small palette, and a variety of colorful tubes.

“Uh, Cal?” he called out. “What’s all this?”

“A waste of time.”

Kaidan’s gaze snapped to the right and he saw the younger biotic emerge from the kitchen. He was wearing nothing but his black boxer briefs and a pout on his face, his arms and one cheek smudged with paint.

“I used to draw sometimes with Ryan when I was a teenager,” he explained. “Though he was infinitely better. I saw this stuff when I went shopping and for some reason thought it’d be fun but...painting’s hard.”

Kaidan chuckled. “I don’t see any paintings.”

“I threw them away. They were terrible.”

“I doubt they were _that_ bad.” He made his way towards the supplies and sat on the couch.

“I’d like to see you try, then you would understand.”

“But you used all the canvas.” He gave Shepard a once over. “Though from all the paint on you, it looks like you don’t even need one.” A large grin split Cal’s face as he approached and Kaidan couldn’t help but think how beautiful he looked. 

“Hence me being nearly naked.”

The older sentinel picked up a brush and dipped it into some bright blue paint. “Come here.”

“Ooh, gonna take me up on my challenge?”

“Maybe I’ll just trace your tattoos.”

“That’s cheating. You can’t use me as a coloring book, they’re already colored in.” A small sound escaped his lips when the brush swiped across his stomach. An arm wrapped itself around his lower back to keep him steady as the paintbrush made more strokes. “What are you even drawing?” he asked, looking down at the swirl of blue across his front.

“A krogan,” he lied.

He rolled his eyes then grabbed his own brush when Kaidan paused to get more paint. “It's hardly fair that I'm in my underwear while you're fully dressed. Barely gives me any space to work with.”

Kaidan eyed him a moment before standing up. He stripped his shirt off slowly, feeling impatient fingers unzipping his pants. Once they were both down to their boxers, Shepard straddled his lap on the couch before slipping fingers into black hair and lightly tugging. Kaidan got the hint and exposed his neck. The brunette drew a thick gray line from his chin to the bottom of his throat. He was sorely tempted to kiss along the same path but the thought of wet paint in his mouth stopped him. Instead he added more lines off the main one until he was satisfied. He tried to reach behind him for a new color and after nearly falling over, he retrieved a thin brush with black.

Kaidan grinned and plucked it out of his hand then started drawing on Shepard’s forearm.

“A weird heart?” Cal laughed after a minute.

“It’s an _abstract_ heart,” Kaidan corrected, before deciding to add another swirl. “If you look at it this way, it looks like a...tree maybe?”

“Great. Now what are you adding to it?”

“My name, of course.”

Shepard laughed again once he was finished and Kaidan drank in the sound. He wished he could hear it more often. He kissed Cal briefly before painting a big line across his face. A few minutes later, each man’s body was decorated with various streaks.

Cal then grabbed Kaidan’s forearm to retaliate for earlier. He dipped in the black paint and spelled out the few short letters of his name. He added three little stars underneath but in red—Shepard’s own favorite color.

“Don’t you dare smudge that before it’s dry,” he warned playfully.

“Are you gonna spank me if I do?” Kaidan asked before yanking the commander in for a kiss.

“You'd probably like it too much,” he murmured as the major pushed him onto his back. Kaidan pulled his underwear off and then the brunette spread his legs.

Kaidan couldn’t help but laugh as he looked over their bodies. They were two grown soldiers covered in a ridiculous amount of paint. “Will this stuff wash off?”

Cal smirked. “I’m not actually sure. I mean, probably. We’ll have to scrub each other off in the hot tub.”

The older man leaned down, his face nuzzling Shepard’s neck. “I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon.”

“Kaidan,” he whimpered quietly when he ground down against his bare ass. His hand moved to sneak under Kaidan’s waistband but the man grabbed both his wrists and pinned them down. He ground harder into the commander, his own dick quickly hardening. “Come on, Kay. Fuck me.”

“Patience,” he chided as he kissed down the younger man’s body. His hands grabbed Shepard’s thighs and pushed them closer to his stomach. “We don’t have to rush right now.”

“No, but I’d like it if-” He broke off into a low moan as Kaidan’s wicked tongue swiped between his cheeks.

The older man didn’t relent. He continued teasing and licking the sensitive skin, coaxing breathy moans from Shepard. His tongue circled around his hole repeatedly then dove inside to stroke against his inner walls. Shepard’s back arched, his fingers digging into the couch beneath him, and he cried out the other biotic’s name. His cock was rock hard against his stomach and Kaidan had a tent in his own underwear from listening to him.

“Fuck me, please,” the brunette begged. “We can go slow later.”

Kaidan loved when Shepard got like this. He was already so needy and it usually took a lot longer to get him to that point. He spent a few more moments between the commander’s legs before coming up. “Please tell me you brought lube,” he said.

Cal groaned in frustration before pushing himself onto his elbows. “Of course I did. It’s in my bag. Up-fucking-stairs.”

“Course it is.”

“I’ll be right back, you take those damn boxers off while I'm gone.”

Kaidan moved to allow him to go and Cal practically ran off. He darted up the stairs and to the room where he’d tossed their bags when he first arrived. He unzipped the front pocket of his and grabbed the half empty tube. The moment he stood, Shepard felt himself being just about tackled onto the large bed. The men bounced on the mattress before settling down, Shepard turning his head to be met with a grin.

“I was impatient,” Kaidan sheepishly admitted.

“Ha, after you just scolded m-”

The brunette was distracted from finishing that sentence by the lips that nibbled along the back of his neck. Kaidan’s hard cock rubbed against his ass and he was glad the major finally stripped away the last of his clothing.

“Kay, here,” he said, handing the tube back. He managed to turn over and kissed the older man before lying on his back. His arms rested above his head and he spread his legs. He looked perfect and Kaidan wished he could paint for real and keep this moment forever.

Kaidan opened the tube, eager to be buried inside his lover. He slicked his own cock up, his eyes briefly closing at the feeling, knowing that Cal would just grow even more impatient if he used his fingers on him. He wiped his hand off on the blanket and settled closer to Shepard. His amber eyes stayed locked on his face to watch how his expression changed as he began pushing into Cal’s body. They both moaned when he was fully in and Shepard’s legs wrapped around his waist. Kaidan moved slowly at first, wanting to savor the feeling, but they were both too excited and that didn’t last long.

Shepard’s fingers tangled in the blanket as Kaidan thrust into him faster. The older man knew his body well by now and he was driving into him just the way he liked. He panted and all his muscles tensed when Kaidan’s dick slid in deeply. His cock bounced as Kaidan’s hips moved harder and eventually the older man grabbed Cal’s legs and pinned them around his arms, his hands now resting on the mattress. That opened his body up more and Kaidan moaned loudly as Shepard’s hole eagerly devoured him.

“Oh god, Cal,” he panted.

The brunette removed his fingers from the blanket and instead went for the biotic who was now within his reach. One of his hands tangled in black hair while the other grasped Kaidan’s shoulder. He was moaning a lot now, too caught up in pleasure to even realize how vocal he was—not that he would’ve cared anyways. Kaidan loved hearing the noises he made.

The older biotic was slamming into him and the bed creaked from their movements. Shepard’s back was arched, which pushed his hips into the bed and made his ass tight around Kaidan’s dick. He leaned down to kiss whatever skin he could reach but pulled up again when he felt the familiar tug in his balls. He could tell the brunette was close and worked his hips to get him to finish first.

“Like that,” Shepard grunted. “Goddamn, just like that!” His hands tightened around Kaidan and he cried out as he came hard, cum splattering on his stomach and up on his chest.

The major’s eyes rolled back in pleasure when Cal’s spasming walls clamped around his thrusting cock and he finished deep inside him. He leaned down, forehead almost bumping Shepard’s chest, as they caught their breath. Once his cock started softening, he pulled out and let the other’s legs down. Shepard stayed on his back while Kaidan lay next to him on his side with an arm curled round the younger man’s waist.

“You know, that hot tub’s sounding pretty good right now,” Kaidan said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“Not yet,” Cal murmured. “I wanna go somewhere first.”

“What? Where? We should clean up first.”

He smirked then sat up. “You better not mean the paint. I want everyone to see our artistic talent.”

“Talent. Right. You realize we look like a mess, right?”

Shepard ignored him completely. “Come on, get dressed.”

Kaidan didn’t feel like leaving at the moment but he sat up anyways. Cal seemed excited so he decided to go along with whatever the man was up to. Shepard quickly wiped the cum off himself in the bathroom while Kaidan rummaged through their stuff for new outfits. Once they were both semi-presentable, Cal grabbed the other sentinel’s hand and led him out the apartment.

“Why won’t you tell me where we’re going?” Kaidan asked as they walked through the brightly lit strip. He did his best not to pay attention to the glances thrown their way.

“Because you probably wouldn’t want to come then,” he answered honestly.

“You know, you should really work on your sales pitch.”

But he stayed by the commander’s side regardless and a few minutes later they were stopping in front of a shop he didn’t recognize. Shepard pushed through the door eagerly and then realization dawned on the major.

“Seriously, Cal?”

“I can’t think of anything more romantic,” he said and Kaidan was pretty sure he meant it.

“You really want my weird heart etched into your skin forever?”

“It’s not weird, it’s abstract. You don't have to get my name but I want yours.”

At that moment, a human woman covered in tattoos approached them. “Are one of you boys getting inked today? Although...” she said as she looked them over, “looks like you might’ve beaten us to it.”

Shepard opened his mouth to answer but Kaidan spoke first. “Both of us actually,” he told her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large smile bloom on Shepard’s face.

They told the shop owner what they wanted, then she and another artist took pictures of the painted designs on each of their forearms before they were scrubbed clean. For a brief moment, as he sat back in the chair and waited for the artist to prep her station, Kaidan questioned every decision that led up to this point in his life. But then he caught sight of Shepard again, waiting in his own chair nearby, and he smiled. Cal looked so excited, and from something like them getting each other’s names tattooed on their arms. It made him laugh a little and he just felt happy. Despite the way it started, Kaidan was relieved to have this shore leave. And despite the needle that soon began piercing his skin at a rapid speed, he was glad to share this moment with Cal.

It would itch like hell in a few days, the commander warned. But even that didn’t bother him when he finally looked at the finished products.

“Do you like it?” Cal asked when they were back out on the walkways. “Though it’s a little too late if you don’t.”

“I do like it,” he said. “A lot more than I thought I would actually.”

“Enough to get more?”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t push your luck.” He then moved so he could wrap an arm around Shepard’s waist. A small smile appeared on his face when the brunette pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“We should have a party,” the younger man suggested.

“Please don’t say tonight.”

“Tonight you get me all to yourself. Tomorrow though...we should all party until we’re arrested for disturbing the peace.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he answered, knowing the green-eyed biotic was serious.

At the very least, Kaidan could say his time spent with Shepard since they met was never dull. But they both knew it was so much more than that and it would continue to be that way. “It’s been a wild ride so far, Cal,” he said, not really meaning to say it out loud.

But Shepard seemed to understand where he was coming from anyways. He smiled and simply said, “The best.”

**Author's Note:**

> My friend and I used to draw on each other with pastels in art class years ago. Our teacher would get mad and make us wash off in the water fountain outside. XD


End file.
